Hoop Summit Rosters Finalized

-- Two Duke Signees Lead Elite Boys International Team Against Top U.S. Prep Seniors on April 9th In Memphis --

BEAVERTON, Ore. (March 23, 2005) -- Boasting of a 10-player team that features six players measuring 6-10 or bigger, Nike Basketball announced today the players and coaches who will comprise the 2005 World Select Team that will compete in the 8th Annual Nike Hoop Summit.

Head mentor of the 2005 World Select Team is Rob Beveridge, head coach in Australia at the NSW (New South Wales) Institute of Sport. Serving as Beveridge's assistant coach is Marin Sedlacek of Serbia Montenegro. Beveridge is making his first coaching appearance at the Nike Hoop Summit, while Sedlacek is making his fifth Hoop Summit appearance.

Beveridge, who boasts of considerable international experience, led the Australian Men's Junior World Team (players aged 19-years-old and younger) to the 2003 FIBA Junior World Championship gold medal. Beveridge's Aussie squad, led by current University of Utah sensation Andrew Bogut, finished the FIBA Junior World Championship with a 7-1 record, including a 106-85 thumping of the USA Junior Team,

Two World Select Team players played for U.S. high school teams this past season. Boateng, a power forward who played at St. Andrew's School in Delaware, and shooting guard Pocius, who played at Holderness School in Plymouth, New Hampshire, have both signed National Letters of Intent to play with perennial NCAA power Duke University.

Additionally, world team members Aleksandrov and Sakota have reportedly already declared for the 2005 NBA Draft.

The Nike Hoop Summit is the country's premiere annual basketball game featuring America's top senior boy high school players taking on a World Select Team comprised of the world's top players who are 19-years-old or younger. The 2005 Nike Hoop Summit will be played on Saturday, April 9, 6:30 p.m. (CT) at the FedExForum in Memphis, Tenn.

Also, for the first time, the 2005 Hoop Summit will be preceded by a preliminary game, the Memphis All-Star Classic, a game that will showcase the top prep senior players from the Memphis area. The Memphis All-Star Classic game will tip off at 4 p.m. (CT). The 2005 Nike Hoop Summit game will be televised nationally by Fox Sports.

Tickets are on sale now, with reserved lower bowl seats priced at $20 and $10. Seats in the second row at courtside are $40, with front row courtside seats $75. Tickets can be purchased at the FedExForum box office, all Ticketmaster locations, online at www.ticketmaster.com, or by calling Ticketmaster at 901-525-1515.

The players and coaches involved in the Memphis All-Star Classic, will be announced at a later date.

Nike Basketball has long supported basketball on a global level. As a result, the company dominates when it comes to uncovering international talent.The World Select Team was selected by the World Association of Basketball Coaches (WABC) with the approved sanctioning of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA), the world governing body of international basketball. Players 19-years-old or younger from any of FIBA's five geographic zones (FIBA Africa, FIBA Americas, FIBA Asia, FIBA Europe and FIBA Oceania) are eligible for selection.

"We look forward to once again partnering with USA Basketball and FIBA to provide fans with a glimpse of the future of basketball - on a global scale," said Nike Director of Global Basketball George Raveling. "Dirk Nowitzki, Tony Parker, Mike Bibby, Zach Randolph and Jermaine O'Neal have all played in the Nike Hoop Summit and gone on to great success. We expect this year's group of young men will also perform at a very high level."

Selected to serve as head coach of USA Basketball's Junior National Select Team was Tom Diener (Harold S. Vincent High School, Milwaukee, Wis.), and his assistant is Herman Harried (Lake Clifton High School, Baltimore, Md.).